Casino game with multiple wagers

ABSTRACT

A casino game which can combine games of blackjack and poker. A player&#39;s blackjack hand can be resolved. A player&#39;s poker hand can also be made from the player&#39;s blackjack cards by dealing additional cards (if necessary) so that the player has five cards. The player can be paid on a poker wager for the player&#39;s cards only. A dealer&#39;s poker hand can also be made from the dealer&#39;s blackjack cards by dealing additional cards (if necessary) so that the dealer has five cards. A further poker wager can be resolved by pitting the player&#39;s poker hand against the dealer&#39;s poker hand.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit to provisional application No.60/763,459, filed on Jan. 30, 2006, which is incorporated by referenceherein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present inventive concept relates to a casino table game, and moreparticularly, to a casino table game that combines elements of blackjackand poker into a single game.

2. Description of the Related Art

Casino games are currently a billion dollar industry. Blackjack iscurrently a popular table game, although its popularity has beenrecently decreasing. The decrease in popularity of blackjack may in partbe due to the rising popularity of variations of poker, which can beplayed in a casino either in a poker room or on the casino floor usinggames like “Three Card poker.” which can be played in a casino either ina poker room or on the casino floor using games like “Three Card poker.”

What is needed is a game which can combine aspects of poker withblackjack in order to provide a more popular variation of blackjackwhich can also be more profitable for the casinos as well.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an aspect of the present invention to provide exciting variationsof blackjack that can be played in casinos.

The above aspects can be obtained by a method that includes (a)receiving a blackjack wager, a player hand only poker wager, and aplayer vs. dealer poker wager from the player; (b) dealing player cardsand dealer cards; (c) resolving a game of blackjack using the playercards and the dealer cards and resolving the blackjack wageraccordingly, wherein the player is not allowed to split any pair; (d) ifthe player cards do not comprise five cards, then dealing additionalplayer cards so that the player cards comprise five cards; (e) forming aplayer poker hand using the player cards; and (f) resolving the playeronly poker hand wager using the player poker hand.

The above aspects can also be obtained by a method that includes (a)receiving a blackjack wager, and a player vs. dealer poker wager fromthe player; (b) dealing player cards and dealer cards; (c) resolving agame of blackjack using the player cards and the dealer cards andresolving the blackjack wager accordingly; (d) if the player cards donot comprise five cards, then dealing additional player cards so thatthe player cards comprise five cards; (e) if the dealer cards do notcomprise five cards, then dealing additional dealer cards so that thedealer cards comprise five cards; (f) forming a dealer poker hand usingthe dealer's cards; and (g) resolving the player vs. dealer poker wagerusing the player poker hand and the dealer poker hand, wherein theplayer vs. poker wager pays more than 1:1 for some ranks.

The above aspects can also be obtained by a computer readable storagemedium to control a computer to perform (a) receiving a blackjack wager,a player hand only poker wager, and a player vs. dealer poker wager fromthe player; (b) dealing player cards and dealer cards; (c) resolving agame of blackjack using the player cards and the dealer cards andresolving the blackjack wager accordingly, wherein the player is notallowed to split any pair; (d) if the player cards do not comprise fivecards, then dealing additional player cards so that the player cardscomprise five cards; (e) forming a player poker hand using the playercards; and (f) resolving the player only poker hand wager using theplayer poker hand.

These together with other aspects and advantages which will besubsequently apparent, reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features and advantages of the present invention, as well as thestructure and operation of various embodiments of the present invention,will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the followingdescription of the preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method of implementing ablackjack/poker combination game, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is an exemplary table layout to implement a blackjack/pokercombination game, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 3A is an exemplary first state of a sample game, according to anembodiment;

FIG. 3B is an exemplary second state of a sample game, according to anembodiment;

FIG. 3C is an exemplary third state of a sample game, according to anembodiment;

FIG. 3D is an exemplary fourth state of a sample game, according to anembodiment;

FIG. 3E is an exemplary fifth state of a sample game, according to anembodiment; and

FIG. 4 is an exemplary block diagram of hardware that can be used toimplement an electronic embodiment;

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the presently preferredembodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to likeelements throughout.

The present general inventive concept relates to a method, system, andcomputer readable storage which allows a casino to offer to player(s) ablackjack game which can also accommodate wager(s) on poker hands aswell.

This can be accomplished by offering a player three wagers (the playermay be required to play all three (or a particular two or a particularone) or he may play any combination of the three wagers at the player'soption). The first wager can be on a blackjack game, the second wagercan be on a player hand only poker wager, and a third wager can be on aplayer vs. dealer poker wager.

The first blackjack wager can be resolved by dealing a blackjack game asknown in the art (conventional or special rules can be used). One ruleset for blackjack that can be used is: dealer stands on soft 17; latesurrender is allowed of one half the player's wager after the dealer haschecked for blackjack; double down on any first two cards; insurancepays 2:1; splitting is not allowed at all, and blackjack pays 3:2.

After the blackjack wager/game is resolved, the player's blackjack cardscan be used to form a poker hand. This can be done by dealing additionalcards to the player's cards used to make the player's blackjack hand (ifthe player does not have at least 5 cards) so that the player has 5cards which can be used to form a poker hand. The player's second wager(the player hand only poker wager) can then be paid according to apaytable based on the player's poker hand.

In order to resolve the player vs. dealer poker wager, the dealer canthen deal himself or herself additional cards if the dealer does nothave five cards. The dealer's five cards can then be used to form apoker hand. There can be (although not required) a dealer qualification,in other words the dealer may need to have a minimum hand to qualify(e.g. king high). If the dealer does not have a minimum hand, then theplayer vs. dealer poker wager can push.

If the dealer qualifies (e.g. the dealer has a minimum hand), then theplayer poker hand can be compared to the dealer poker hand. The betterhand can win. Thus, if the dealer has a better hand than the player, theplayer loses his third player vs. dealer poker wager. If the player'shand (the same player's poker hand used in the second player hand onlypoker wager) is better than the dealers then the player wins the playervs. dealer poker wager. The player may win even money on this wager orpossibly a paytable payout depending on a rank of the player's hand. Forexample, a hand of four of a kind may pay 20:1.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method of implementing ablackjack/poker combination game, according to an embodiment.

The method can start with operation 100, wherein the house can receivewager(s) from the player. This can be any combination of a blackjackwager, a player only poker hand wager, and a player vs. dealer pokerwager. The house may allow the player to play any combination of thesethree bets or may require some or all of them (e.g. the blackjack betmay be required and playing either or both of the other wagers can beoptional).

Form operation 100, the method can proceed to operation 102, wherein thedealer deals the player cards and the dealer cards. Typically, thesewill be for the blackjack hand, thus the dealer will deal two cards toeach player and two cards (typically one face down and one face up) tothe dealer.

From operation 102, the method can proceed to operation 104, wherein thedealer can then resolve the blackjack hands of the player (or all of theplayers at the table). This can be done by allowing the player to playout his or her hand (e.g. hit, stand, etc.) and resolving the dealer'shand as well (by drawing cards according to predetermined rules such asthe dealer draws until he or she reaches a point total of 17). Once boththe player and dealer have finished playing their hands, the blackjackwager can be paid or taken depending upon whether the player has won orlost (e.g. the party with the higher point total without having exceeded21 wins).

It is noted that FIG. 1 assumes that the player has placed all threewagers (the blackjack wager, the player only poker wager, and the playervs. dealer poker wager). Appropriate parts of the method can be skippedif they are not necessary to resolve wagers.

From operation 104, the method can proceed to operation 106, whichdetermines whether the player has at least five cards. The player needsfive cards to form a poker hand, so if the player does not have fivecards then the dealer can continuously deal cards to the player untilthe player has received five cards. For example, if the player wasoriginally dealt a King and a nine in operation 102, the player wouldtypically stay and thus would need three more cards.

If the determination in operation 106 determines that the player doesnot have five cards, then the method can proceed to operation 108, whichdeals additional player cards so that the player has five cards to forma player poker hand. The method can then proceed to operation 110.

If the determination in operation 106 determines that the player has atleast five cards, then no additional cards are needed and the method canproceed to operation 110. If the player happens to have more than fivecards (this is unlikely but is possible if the player has hit manytimes) then the first five cards can typically be used for the playerpoker hand.

From either operation 106 or 108, the method can proceed to operation110, which resolves the player only poker hand wager. This can beresolves by using the five card player poker hand formed by cards dealtin operation 102, 104 and possibly 108, to see if this hand forms apredetermined poker hand rank. Table I illustrates an exemplary paytable(two different schedules, either can be used) of payouts for differenthand ranks.

TABLE I hand rank option A option B royal flush 1000:1   1000:1   fiveof a kind 100:1  100:1  straight flush 50:1  30:1  four of a kind 20:1 20:1  full house 8:1 10:1 flush 8:1 7:1 straight 8:1 5:1 three of a kind4:1 3:1 two pair 2:1 2:1 pairs 9, 9 to A, A 1:1 1:1 anything else losesloses

From operation 110, the method can proceed to operation 112, whichdetermines if the dealer has at least 5 cards. The dealer would haveinitially dealt himself or herself two cards, but would typically haveto continue hitting until the dealer's point total is 17 or greater.Thus the dealer may already have at least five cards. On the other hand,the dealer can initially be dealt a point total over 16 (e.g. dealt a20) in which case the dealer would only have two cards.

If the determination in operation 112 determines that the dealer doesnot have at least five cards, then the method can proceed to operation114, wherein the dealer deals additional cards to himself or herself sothat the dealer has five cards to form a dealer poker hand. The methodcan then proceed to operation 116.

If the determination in operation 112 determines that the dealer alreadyhas at least five cards, then the method can proceed to operation 116.If the dealer happens to have more than five cards, the dealer cantypically use only the first (or last) five cards dealt.

From either operation 112 or 114, the method can proceed to operation116 which determines if the dealer qualifies. In an embodiment, theremay be no dealer qualifier, in which operations 116 or 118 are notpresent and the method can proceed instead to operation 120. Having adealer qualifier can serve to increase the payouts of winning hands byreducing a number of times the player will win.

Whether the dealer qualifies can be determined by a predetermined set ofrules. For example, one such qualifier rule can be if the dealer's pokerhand is a rank of at least king high. Thus if the dealer's poker handcontains a rank of king or higher (e.g. a pair, three of a kind, etc.)then the dealer would be considered to have qualified.

If the determination in operation 116 determines that the dealer doesnot qualify, then the method can proceed to operation 118, wherein theplayer vs. dealer poker hand wager (also can be called stud poker handwager) pushes. Thus, the player does not win or lose his or her playervs. dealer poker wager but the original player vs. dealer poker wager isreturned to the player.

If the determination in operation 116 determines that the dealer doesqualify, the method can proceed to operation 120 which determines whohas the higher hand (the player using the player's poker hand or thedealer using the dealer's poker hand). If the dealer's poker hand is thehigher hand, then the method can proceed to operation 122, wherein thedealer wins and thus the player loses his or her player vs. dealer pokerwager.

If the player has the higher hand (e.g. the player's poker hand is ahigher rank than then dealer's poker hand), then the method can proceedto operation 124, wherein the player wins his or her player vs. dealerpoker wager. The player can win even money on this wager or a multipleof his or her original player vs. dealer poker wager depending on therank of the player's poker hand. Table II below illustrates an exemplarypaytable for ranks and their payouts. Note that the player must have arank higher than the dealer in order to win this bet, so for example ifthe player has a five of a kind but the dealer has a royal flush thenthe player would lose instead of getting paid 40:1 (using option A).Note that in Table II some hands pay more than even money, and in afurther embodiment all winning hands can pay more than even money.

TABLE II hand rank option A option B royal straight flush 50:1  30:1 five of a kind 40:1  20:1  straight flush 30:1  15:1  four of a kind25:1  10:1  full house 7:1 7:1 flush 7:1 5:1 straight 7:1 3:1 three of akind 2:1 2:1 all others 1:1 1:1

FIG. 2 is an exemplary table layout to implement a blackjack/pokercombination game, according to an embodiment.

The table layout illustrated in FIG. 2 can accommodate the dealer andsix players, although any number of players can be accommodated. Thedealer's cards area 208 is where the dealer deals himself or herselfcards.

A player's cards area 200 is where cards for player two (from the left)can be dealt (although cards can of course be dealt anywhere on theABLE). A player vs. dealer betting circle 202 (labeled “poker”), aplayer only poker hand wager betting circle 204 (labeled “side bet”),and a blackjack wager betting circle 206. In an embodiment the playermay be required to bet equal amounts on both the player vs. dealer wagerand the blackjack wager while the player only poker hand wager can beoptional. In an alternative embodiment, any of the three wagers can berequired or optional, and may not have to be equal amounts.

An example round of an embodiment will now be presented. In thisexample, the player has placed all three wagers and has bet $5 on eachwager.

FIG. 3A is an exemplary first state of a sample game, according to anembodiment.

First, a standard blackjack hand is dealt. The player in this case isdealt 15 while the dealer's up-card is a jack. This can be consideredthe “initial deal.”

FIG. 3B is an exemplary second state of a sample game, according to anembodiment.

The player's blackjack hand can then be resolved, as known in the art(with modifications as described herein). This is done by allowing theplayer to hit/stand (and possibly double/split) as the player wishes (oruntil he/she goes over 21). In this example the player has hit a 6 for apoint total of 21.

FIG. 3C is an exemplary third state of a sample game, according to anembodiment.

The dealer's blackjack hand can then be resolved according to houserules, typically until the dealer achieves a point total of 17 orgreater. In this example the dealer uncovers the hole card which is aking, for a point total of 20.

Now the blackjack hand can be resolved. The player's point total of 21beats the dealer's point total of 20, thus the player (HAS WON EVEN ONMONEY) his or her blackjack wager (e.g. the player gets paid $5 off hisor her original $5 wager).

FIG. 3D is an exemplary fourth state of a sample game, according to anembodiment.

Now the player hand only poker wager can be resolved. Since the playerdoes not have five cards in order to form a poker wager, the dealerdeals the player two additional cards so that the player has five cards.In this example the player receives a six and a ten. The player's pokerhand rank is two pair (since the player has a pair of tens and a pair ofsixes). Thus, the player would be paid for two pair according to thepaytable being used.

FIG. 3E is an exemplary fifth state of a sample game, according to anembodiment.

Now the player vs. dealer wager can be resolved. Since the dealer's handdoes not comprise five cards the dealer now deals himself threeadditional cards, a queen, a nine, and an ace. The dealer has an acehigh.

The player's two pair beats the dealer's ace high. Thus the player winson the player vs. dealer wager.

Thus, in this example, the player has won all three wagers.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary block diagram of hardware that can be used toimplement an electronic embodiment.

A processing unit 404 can be connected to an output unit 400 (e.g. aCRT, LCD, etc.), an input unit 402 (e.g. a touch screen, keyboard,buttons, etc.), a network connection 406 (e.g. connection to a casinoserver or the Internet or other communication network), a ROM 408, a RAM410, and a cash acceptance unit 412 (which can accept cash or othermethods of payment to place wagers).

Any embodiments described herein can be played with a standard deck ofcards or any type of special deck (e.g. a Spanish deck, etc.) The gamecan also be played with a single deck or multiple decks (e.g. 1-8 decksor more). Standard rules of blackjack can be used as well as any knownvariation of blackjack. Further, the order of any of the operationsdescribed herein can be performed in any order and wagers can beplaced/resolved in any order. Any embodiments herein can also be playedin electronic form and programs and/or data for such can be stored onany type of computer readable storage medium (e.g. CD-ROM, DVD, disk,etc.)

The many features and advantages of the invention are apparent from thedetailed specification and, thus, it is intended by the appended claimsto cover all such features and advantages of the invention that fallwithin the true spirit and scope of the invention. Further, sincenumerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilledin the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exactconstruction and operation illustrated and described, and accordinglyall suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, fallingwithin the scope of the invention.

1. A method to resolve wagers placed by a player, the method comprising:receiving a blackjack wager, a player hand only poker wager, and aplayer vs. dealer poker wager from the player; dealing player cards anddealer cards; resolving a game of blackjack using the player cards andthe dealer cards and resolving the blackjack wager accordingly, whereinthe player is not allowed to split any pair; if the player cards do notcomprise five cards, then dealing additional player cards so that theplayer cards comprise five cards; forming a player poker hand using theplayer cards; and resolving the player only poker hand wager using theplayer poker hand.
 2. A method as recited in claim 1, furthercomprising: if the dealer cards do not comprise five cards, then dealingadditional dealer cards so that the dealer cards comprise five cards;forming a dealer poker hand using the dealer's cards; and resolving theplayer vs. dealer poker wager using the player poker hand and the dealerpoker hand.
 3. A method as recited in claim 2, wherein if the dealerpoker hand is not a predetermined rank, then the dealer vs. player pokerwager pushes.
 4. A method as recited in claim 3, wherein thepredetermined rank is a king high.
 5. A method as recited in claim 2,wherein the game is played with a eight decks.
 6. A method as recited inclaim 2, wherein the blackjack wager and the player vs. dealer pokerwager are mandatory while the player only poker hand wager is optional.7. A method as recited in claim 6, wherein the blackjack wager and theplayer vs. dealer poker wager must be equal amounts.
 8. A method asrecited in claim 2, wherein the player vs. dealer poker wager pays morethan 1:1 on some ranks.
 9. A method as recited in claim 2, wherein theplayer vs. dealer poker wagers more than 1:1 on all ranks.
 10. A methodto resolve wagers placed by a player, the method comprising: receiving ablackjack wager, and a player vs. dealer poker wager from the player;dealing player cards and dealer cards; resolving a game of blackjackusing the player cards and the dealer cards and resolving the blackjackwager accordingly; if the player cards do not comprise five cards, thendealing additional player cards so that the player cards comprise fivecards; if the dealer cards do not comprise five cards, then dealingadditional dealer cards so that the dealer cards comprise five cards;forming a dealer poker hand using the dealer's cards; and resolving theplayer vs. dealer poker wager using the player poker hand and the dealerpoker hand, wherein the player vs. poker wager pays more than 1:1 forsome ranks.
 11. A method as recited in claim 10, wherein if the dealerpoker hand is not a predetermined rank, then the dealer vs. player pokerwager pushes.
 12. A method as recited in claim 11, wherein thepredetermined rank is a king high.
 13. A method as recited in claim 10,wherein the game is played with eight decks.
 14. A method as recited inclaim 10, wherein the blackjack wager and the player vs. dealer pokerwager must be equal amounts.
 15. A method as recited in claim 10,wherein the player vs. dealer poker wager pays more than 1:1 on allranks.
 16. A computer readable storage medium to control a computer toresolve wagers placed by a player, the storage medium controlling acomputer to perform: receiving a blackjack wager, a player hand onlypoker wager, and a player vs. dealer poker wager from the player;dealing player cards and dealer cards; resolving a game of blackjackusing the player cards and the dealer cards and resolving the blackjackwager accordingly, wherein the player is not allowed to split any pair;if the player cards do not comprise five cards, then dealing additionalplayer cards so that the player cards comprise five cards; forming aplayer poker hand using the player cards; and resolving the player onlypoker hand wager using the player poker hand.